CN112585649A

CN112585649A - Antenna switching

Info

Publication number: CN112585649A
Application number: CN201880092943.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: E·热利诺特; J·苏伊洛特; B·莫利纳
Original assignee: Gaming Partners International USA Inc
Current assignee: Angel Group Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-05-01
Filing date: 2018-05-01
Publication date: 2021-03-30
Also published as: JP2021528718A; WO2019212534A1; US11714976B2; JP7146943B2; US20210365648A1

Abstract

The switching means may provide a pass-through connection between the first set of reader inputs and the antenna inputs. The switching device may disconnect the transfer connection between the first set of reader inputs from the first reader and the plurality of antenna inputs. The switching device may generate a tuning signal based on the antenna input. The switching device may provide the tuning signal to a second set of reader inputs for a second reader.

Description

Antenna switching

Background

Casinos have widely adopted Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to manage inventory and authenticate gaming chip products and other assets. RFID can provide a solution for live gaming operators, typically using casino chips and cards (boards) by identifying and automatically counting gaming chip transactions. RFID may also facilitate automation of placement recognition. However, like other technologies, RFID has evolved and will continue to evolve over time. For casino operators, investment in new technology often involves firm commitments for many years.

Casino operators may be hesitant to accept new technology when it causes its existing technology to expire. Scientific and continuing engineering developments often lead to new solutions, new technologies always being more advanced than the previous ones. As with other markets, the lottery industry is faced with the problem of product obsolescence. However, casino operators prefer to adopt new technology when they can slowly obsolete existing technology over a period of time. It would be beneficial if there were a solution that could deploy new RFID technology without losing backwards compatibility.

Disclosure of Invention

The system may include an antenna having one or more outputs. The system may include a switching device including one or more first reader inputs, one or more second reader inputs, and one or more antenna inputs. An output of the antenna may be coupled to an antenna input. The switching device may be configured to provide a pass-through connection between the first reader input and the antenna input. The switching device may be configured to break the transfer connection between the first reader input and the antenna input. The switching device may be configured to generate a tuning signal based at least in part on the antenna input and provide the tuning signal to the second reader input.

A system may include an antenna and a switching device coupled to the antenna. A first reader corresponding to a first RFID technology may be coupled to the switching device. A second reader corresponding to a second RFID technology may be coupled to the switching device. The system may include a computing device configured to read a set of first RFID-enabled gaming chips positioned on an antenna from a first reader. The computing device may be configured to send a command to switch from the first reader to the second reader and read a set of second RFID-enabled gaming chips positioned on the antenna by the second reader.

A method may include reading a set of first RFID-enabled gaming chips positioned on an antenna from a first reader based at least in part on an antenna signal. The method may include sending a command to switch from a first reader to a second reader. The method may also include reading a set of second RFID-enabled gaming chips positioned on the antenna from a second reader based at least in part on the tuned antenna signal. The tuned antenna signal may correspond to the antenna signal modified by the switching device.

These and other aspects, objects, features and embodiments will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments, which embody the best mode presently perceived.

Drawings

For a more complete understanding of the embodiments and their advantages, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are briefly described below.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an exemplary gaming environment, in accordance with various exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an exemplary gaming environment, in accordance with various exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a portion of an exemplary gaming environment, in accordance with various exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates a user interface presented by a computing environment in the gaming environment of FIG. 1, according to various exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example flow diagram of certain functions implemented by portions of the switching device in the gaming environment of FIG. 1, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example flow diagram of certain functions implemented by portions of the inventory application in the gaming environment of FIG. 1, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of a computing device employed in the gaming environment of FIG. 1 in accordance with various embodiments.

The drawings illustrate only exemplary embodiments and are therefore not to be considered limiting of the scope described herein, as other equally effective embodiments are also within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. The elements and features shown in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the embodiments. In addition, certain dimensions may be exaggerated to help visually convey certain principles. In the drawings, like reference numerals designate like or corresponding elements, but not necessarily the same elements, between the drawings.

Detailed Description

Technical investments often involve significant operational and financial impacts on casino gaming chip products, other assets, and operational equipment. The operational equipment may include RFID readers, antennas, and related systems. As RFID has evolved and will continue to evolve over time, it is important to provide casino operators with new RFID technology while continuing to support older RFID technology. However, space at the gaming table may be limited. It is impractical to place multiple antennas of multiple RFID technologies at each placement point. For example, assume a casino is equipped with operating equipment including an antenna, a reader, and an RFID casino gaming chip configured to read a particular RFID standard, such as Phase Jitter Modulation (PJM). Such an operating device would not be compatible with another RFID standard, such as SMART, a 13.56MHz ISO18000-M3 proprietary technology developed and owned by GamingPartners International Corporation. SMART uses its own operating equipment, configured to the SMART RFID standard. When two different RFID standards must coexist, the infrastructure must be duplicated. SMART antennas, readers and casino chips must be purchased, while separate PJM antennas, readers and casino chips are purchased.

For example, if casino PJM technology is switched to SMART technology, new RFID standard operating devices will not be backward compatible. Operators will expend significant resources to remove the previous RFID standard equipment and infrastructure, including antennas embedded in many different pieces of furniture throughout the casino, including cage counters, casino chip libraries, gaming tables, and other multiple locations. There is a need for a solution that will provide a simpler, easier and cheaper path for casino operators to support and operate both the old and new RFID standards.

To facilitate simultaneous operation of multiple RFID technologies, a connection from an antenna tuned for a first technology to a reader configured for the first technology may be communicated using a switching device. When a switch command is received, the switching device may disconnect the transfer connection and provide a tuning signal to a second reader configured for the second technology. The switching means may be tuned to change the signal from the antenna tuned for the first technology so that the changed or tuned signal works with the second technology. By iteratively switching between each technology multiple times per second, the first and second readers can simultaneously read the game pieces from the respective technologies in real time. In the following discussion, a general description of the system and its components is provided, followed by a discussion of the operation of the system and its components.

Referring to fig. 1, a gaming environment 100 is shown in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. The gaming environment 100 may include a computing environment 103 connected to a reader 106 and a reader 109. The reader 106 and the reader 109 may be coupled to a switching device 112. The switching device 112 may be coupled to an antenna device 115. The switching device 112 may receive power from the

reader

106 or 109.

The antenna device 115 may include a surface 118 on which a game chip 121 may be placed. The term "game piece" is intended to represent a valuable physical object. The game pieces may include coins, cards, metal tokens, and other value tokens. The antenna device 115 may be used to read a game chip 121 placed within the reading area. The reader 106 may be used to read tokens 121 corresponding to a first technology, while the reader 109 may be used to read tokens 121 corresponding to a second technology. In one embodiment, the first technique may be a 13.56MHz technique, such as SMART 16 reader 106 using the SMART ISO18000-M3 standard, and the second technique is one of a Phase Jitter Modulation (PJM) technique, an ISO 15693 technique, or a 125KHz technique. In other embodiments, the different readers correspond to different ones of 13.56MHz technology, PJM technology, ISO 15693 technology, 125KHz technology, or other RFID technology. The switching means 112 may switch between the first technology and the second technology.

The computing environment 103 may present a user interface 124. The user interface 124 may include data describing the game pieces 121 that have been read and other game information. For example, the user interface 124 may indicate a count of the number of tokens 121 that have been read and a sum of the values of the tokens 121 that have been read.

Referring to fig. 2, an example of a gaming environment 100 is shown, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The gaming environment 100 may include a computing environment 103, a reader 106, a reader 109, a switching device 112, and an antenna device 115. The computing environment 103 may include a data store 203, an inventory application 206, and a display 209. The switching device 112 may include a switching circuit 218 and a tuning circuit 221. The antenna device 115 may include a surface 118, a tuning circuit 224, and one or more antennas 227.

The computing environment 103 may include, for example, a server computer, desktop computer, notebook computer, or any other system that provides computing capabilities. The computing environment 103 may employ multiple computing devices, which may be arranged, for example, in one or more server libraries or computer libraries or other arrangements. Such computing devices may be located in a single installation, or may be distributed across many different geographic locations. For example, the computing environment 103 may include multiple computing devices that together may correspond to a hosted computing resource, a grid computing resource, or any other distributed computing arrangement. In some cases, the computing environment 103 may correspond to a flexible computing resource in which the allocated capacity of processing, network, storage, or other computing-related resources may vary over time.

According to various embodiments, various applications and/or other functionality may be performed in the computing environment 103. In addition, various data may be stored in the data store 203 accessible by the computing environment 103. It will be appreciated that the data store 203 may be representative of a plurality of data stores 203. For example, the data stored in the data storage 203 is associated with the operation of various applications and/or functional entities described below.

For example, components executing on the computing environment 103 include inventory applications, as well as other applications, services, processes, systems, engines, or functions not discussed in detail herein. The inventory application 206 is executed to continuously monitor inventory on one or more antenna devices 115 deployed in the gaming environment. The inventory application 206 may send inventory commands to the reader 106. The switching device 112 may pass signals from the antenna device 115.

The reader 106 may process the communicated signal to read the game piece 121 (FIG. 1) corresponding to the first technology and send the reading to the inventory application 206. The inventory application 206 may send a switch command to the switch 112. In some embodiments, the inventory application 206 sends the switch command through the reader 106 or the reader 109.

The switching device 112 may disconnect the transfer connection and provide a tuning signal to the reader 109. The inventory application 206 may send an inventory command to the reader 109. The reader 109 may process the tuning signal from the switching device 112 to read the game chip 121 corresponding to the second technology and send the read result to the inventory application 206. The inventory application 206 may process this process iteratively.

The inventory application 206 may present a user interface on the display 209, including, for example, an inventory history of the game pieces 121 identified on the antenna arrangement 115 from one or more RFID technologies. The display 209 may include, for example, one or more devices such as a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) display, a gas plasma-based flat panel display, an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display, an electrophoretic ink (E-ink) display, an LCD projector, or other type of display device, and so forth. In some embodiments, the display 209 may be positioned so that a casino manager, security guard, or dealer at a casino table may view the display.

The data stored in the data store 203 includes, for example, inventory 212, log data 215, and potentially other data. The inventory 212 may include all of the game pieces 121 deployed in the casino. The inventory 212 may also include historical data of readings of the deployed game pieces 121 from one or more antenna devices 115 in the casino. The inventory 212 may include an indication of the technology of each of the tokens 121 read. The inventory 212 may also include a monetary value for each of the tokens 121. The inventory 212 may include the location of each read. Thus, the inventory application 206 may track the location of each gamepiece 121 as it moves through the casino. As an example, the inventory 212 may specify that the identifier of the gamepiece 121 is given to John-Smith in the casino cage, that John-Smith placed the gamepiece 121 on a first table and won, then that John-Smith placed the gamepiece 121 on a second table and lost, after which the gamepiece 121 is added to the dealer inventory.

The log data 215 may include information about various events that may occur in the casino. The log data 215 may include a history of inventory audits, a history of equipment failures, and records of detected suspicious activities. The log data 215 may have a record of cheating events detected in the casino.

The antenna 227 may include a loop, a coil, or some other antenna element. The output of the antenna 227 may be tuned for a particular RFID technology by the tuning circuit 224. As an example, the antenna arrangement 115 may be tuned by the tuning circuit 224 so that the reader 106 may read the game chip 121 corresponding to the first technology based on the signal from the antenna 227. The switching circuit 218 may communicate a signal from the antenna device 115 to the reader 106. The tuning circuit 221 may tune the signal from the antenna device 115 for another RFID technology. As an example, the antenna device 115 may be tuned by the tuning circuit 221 so that the reader 109 may read the game chip 121 corresponding to the second technology.

The tuning circuit 221 may include one or more inputs and one or more outputs. The input may be coupled to the antenna arrangement 115 and the output coupled to the reader 109. As one example, one or more wires may be coupled between the reader 106 and the switching device 112. Similarly, one or more wires may be coupled between the reader 109 and the switching device 112. The tuning circuit 221 may tune each input to provide a tuning signal at the output.

The

reader

106 or 109 may instruct the switching device 112 to switch between the first technology and the second technology by sending a switch command. In some embodiments, the inventory application 206 may send a switch command to the switch 112 to switch between technologies. As one example, the switch command may include setting one of the conductors coupled between the reader 106 and the switching device 112 high when the first technique is used and setting the conductor low when the second technique is used. In another embodiment, the reader 106 may send the switch command as a message to the switch 112 and the switching circuitry 218 may switch between the first technology and the second technology based on the content of the message.

The switching circuitry 218 may provide a pass-through connection between the reader 106 and the antenna device 115 of one or more wires corresponding to the antenna 227. The delivery connection may be tuned by a tuning circuit 224. The reader 106 may change the line level of the wire indicating which technology or reader to use. When the line level changes, the switching circuit 218 may disconnect the transfer connection between the reader 106 and the antenna arrangement 115. The switching device 112 may generate a tuning signal based on the signal from the antenna device 115. The switching circuit 218 may provide a tuning signal to the reader 109. As an example, the switching device 112 may tune a signal from the antenna 227 using the tuning circuit 221. The switching circuit 218 may stop providing the antenna signal to the reader 109 and reestablish the communication connection. The switching circuit 218 may iterate between providing a pass connection to the reader 106 and providing a tuning signal to the reader 109. When a switch command is received, the switch 112 may iterate between the

readers

106 and 109.

The signal from the antenna 227 may be tuned for the first technique by the tuning circuit 224. The tuning circuit 221 may change the signal tuning output from the tuning circuit 224 for the first technique. In some embodiments, the signal is tuned in the tuning circuit 221 by changing the analog signal from the antenna 227 using a passive element. The altered signal output from the tuning circuit 221 is tuned for the second technology and is therefore readable by the reader 109.

The tuning circuit 221 and the tuning circuit 224 may be tuned during installation. The tuning circuit 224 may be tuned with respect to the reader 106 and the tuning circuit 221 may be tuned with respect to the reader 109. The tuning circuit 224 may be tuned first and then the tuning circuit 221. The change tuning circuit 224 may modify signals to the reader 106 and the reader 109, while the change tuning circuit 221 modifies only signals to the reader 109. In some embodiments, the tuning circuit 224 may be adjusted to match a characteristic impedance of the technology of the reader 106. The characteristic impedance of the technology of the reader 106 may be different from the characteristic impedance of the technology of the reader 109. The tuning circuit 221 may adjust the characteristic impedance from the tuning circuit 224 to match the technology of the reader 109.

As an example, the switching device 112 may receive a command to configure the tuning circuit 221. In some embodiments, the switching device 112 may enter the configuration mode in response to an input, such as receiving a command or pressing a button. In other embodiments, the tuning circuit 221 may be manually tuned by adjusting various switches. One or more parameters may be determined to tune the signal from the antenna 227. These parameters may correspond to the values of passive elements, such as capacitance, resistance or inductance; setting the timing; or some other parameter. For example, one parameter may be determined by a technician setting the resistance value of the variable resistor in the tuning circuit 221. One or more parameters may be stored in the switching circuit. In one example of a variable resistor, the resistance may be adjusted by turning the input to the variable resistor, and the parameter of the stored resistance may be considered depending on the location of the input. In some embodiments, the computing device in the switching apparatus 112 may store the parameters in a memory apparatus. The computing device may execute software that processes the input signal from the antenna arrangement 115 and outputs a tuning signal to the reader 109.

The switching device 112 may switch between the reader 106 and the reader 109 at a frequency that may be controlled based on a switching input. According to one example, the reader 106 may increase and decrease the line level of the switching input at a frequency. The switching means 112 may alternate between providing the delivery connection to the reader 106 during a first time window and providing the tuning signal to the reader 109 during a second time window. In some embodiments, the switching device 112 provides signals to only one reader at a time. The reader 106 may read the game chip 121 from a first technology positioned on the surface 118 of the antenna device 115 during a first time window. Similarly, the reader 109 may read the game chip 121 from a second technology positioned on the surface 118 of the antenna device 115 during a second time window.

Although not shown, one or more additional readers corresponding to different technologies may be coupled in parallel to the switching device 112. As an example, the switching device 112 may include a plurality of tuning circuits 221 that individually correspond to different technologies. The switching means 112 may switch between different technologies depending on the information in the switching instruction. As one example, a computing device in the switching apparatus 112 may process the switch command to determine which reader to switch to. As another example, multiple line levels may be adjusted to set binary values corresponding to different readers. Thus, the inventory application 206 may read the hybrid gamepiece 121 from any number of RFID technologies in real time by the reader 106, the reader 109, and additional readers as it is placed on the single antenna surface 118. The inventory application 206 may store the read values in the inventory 212. The inventory application 206 may detect equipment failures and cheating events and store their occurrences in log data 215.

Referring to fig. 3, a portion of an exemplary gaming environment 100a is shown, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. The gaming environment 100 may include a reader 106a, a card reader 109a, a switching device 112a, an antenna device 115a, and a computing environment 103 (FIG. 1). In this example, the reader 106a may be configured to read a PJM game chip 121, such as the MARS 24 reader 106a (fig. 1). The reader 109a may be configured to read SMART game pieces 121, which are proprietary 13.56MHz technology.

The reader 109a may have a connection 303 with the switching device 112a and one or more connections 309. Connection 303 may correspond to a USB connection, a network connection, an RS232 connection, an RS485 connection, or other type of connection. The connection 303 may provide power to the switching device 112 a. In addition, the reader 109a may send a switch command to the switching device 112a via connection 303.

The antenna device 115a may be tuned for the PJM technology. In one example, antenna device 115a includes six loops providing a 3D 440x300mm sensing area. In some embodiments, a different number of loops may be used. The number of loops may depend on the antenna size and type. For example, a 1D antenna may use one loop, a 3D antenna may use 6 loops, and another type of antenna may use 24 loops. Thus, the switching device 112a may provide a pass-through connection between the antenna device 115a and the reader 106a and provide a tuning signal to the reader 109 a. The switch 112 may tune the signal to read the SMART token 121. Passing a connection refers to individually coupling one loop of connection 312 to a respective one of connections 306. As an example, a first wire of the connection 306 may be electrically connected with a first wire of the connection 312, a second wire of the connection 306 may be electrically connected with a second wire of the connection 312, and so on.

Turning to FIG. 4, shown is the user interface 124 presented on the display 209 (FIG. 2) of the computing environment 103 (FIG. 1) according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The user interface 124 includes current bet information 403, a history of counts 406 and a history of corresponding bet amounts 409, status indicators 412 of various devices, and possibly other elements.

The current token information 403 may include a count of all tokens 121 and token amounts on the surface 118 of the one or more antenna devices 115 during the last read operation. The current token information 403 may also include an indicator specifying the validity of the token 121 on the surface 118. As an example, if a stolen token 121 is detected, the current token information 403 may indicate a stolen device.

The count history 406 and the corresponding token amount history 409 may specify the sum of the number of tokens 121 present during the reading operation and all monetary values of the tokens 121 counted. Monetary value is a unit of hypothetical value that has no connection to real currency.

The status indicators 412 may indicate the connectivity of the

card readers

106 and 109, the switching device 112, and other gaming devices. In some embodiments, the status indicator 412 may include an indication that the tuning circuit 221 or 224 needs to be retuned.

Referring next to fig. 5, illustrated is a flow diagram of one example of a process 500 for providing a portion corresponding to the switching device 112 (fig. 1), in accordance with various embodiments. It will be appreciated that the flow chart of fig. 5 merely provides an example of many different types of functional arrangements that may be used to implement the operation of a portion of the switching apparatus 112 described herein. Alternatively, the flow diagram of fig. 5 may be viewed as depicting an example of elements of a method implemented in the switching device 112 according to one or more embodiments.

Process 500 may involve providing signals to two or more different RFID readers corresponding to different RFID technologies. This process 500 includes ensuring that the signals sent to each reader are in a format that the reader can process for its respective technology.

At block 503, the process 500 includes providing a transfer connection with an antenna for a first reader. As an example, the switching device 112 (fig. 1) may receive one or more wires from the antenna device 115 (fig. 1). The switching device 112 may couple each of the wires from the antenna device with each of one or more wires connected to the reader 106. The reader 106 may read the signal from the antenna device 115 as if directly connected to the antenna device 115.

At block 506, the process 500 includes disconnecting the transfer connection between the first reader and the antenna. For example, the switching device 112 may disconnect the transfer connection provided in block 503. In one embodiment, the switching device 112 includes one or more transistors that can be switched to disconnect or stop the connection between the antenna device 115 and the reader 106. In one example, a line level coupled to an input pin of the computing environment 103, reader 106, or reader 109 may be raised or lowered to change a state of a transistor.

At block 509, process 500 includes generating a tuning signal from an antenna input. As an example, the switching device 112 may tune a signal received from the antenna device 115. The tuned signal may be provided to the reader 109. In some embodiments, the signal originating from the antenna device 115 is tuned based on a technology corresponding to the reader 106. Thus, the signal originating from the antenna arrangement 115 may not be compatible with the technology of the reader 109. The switching means 112 may tune the signal to make it compatible with the technology of the reader 109. Once tuned, the signal may be used by the reader 109 to read RFID gaming chips from the technology of the antenna device 115. In some embodiments, the signal comprises a plurality of wires or loops of the antenna device 115. The switching device 112 may tune the signal from each wire or loop.

At block 512, the process 500 includes providing the tuning signal to a second reader. The switching device 112 may provide the tuning signal from block 509 to the reader 109. The switching device 112 may stop providing the tuning signal in response to receiving a switch command to connect with the reader 106.

At block 515, process 500 includes determining whether the process is. If so, the process ends. Otherwise, process 500 proceeds to block 503. This process may be completed during the shutdown procedure. During normal operation, process 500 is never complete.

Referring next to FIG. 6, a flow diagram is shown that provides one example of a flow 600 corresponding to a portion of the inventory application 206 (FIG. 2), in accordance with various embodiments. It is to be understood that the flow diagram of FIG. 6 merely provides an example of many different types of functional arrangements that may be used to implement the operations of a portion of the inventory application 206 described herein. Alternatively, the flow diagram of FIG. 5 may be viewed as depicting an example of elements of a method implemented in the computing environment 103 (FIG. 1) in accordance with one or more embodiments.

The process 600 may involve reading hybrid gaming chips from one or more RFID technologies from an RFID antenna. The process 600 may be used across various tables throughout a casino to read gaming chips at multiple locations per table.

At block 603, the process 600 includes sending an inventory command to the first reader. For example, the inventory application 206 (FIG. 2) may send an inventory command to the reader 106 (FIG. 1). The switching device 112 (fig. 1) may pass signals from the antenna device 115 (fig. 1) through. The reader 106 may process the communicated signal to read the game piece 121 (FIG. 1) corresponding to the first technology and send the reading to the inventory application 206.

At block 606, the process 600 includes processing results from the first reader. The inventory application 206 may parse the message and extract a list of the game pieces 121 read by the reader 106. The message may include an identifier for each of the tokens 121. In some embodiments, the message may also include data from a programmable memory contained on each of the game pieces 121. As an example, the game pieces 121 may include a monetary value stored in a programmable memory, a history of readings, and other information. The reader 106 may update or change the programmable memory if necessary.

At block 609, process 600 includes sending a handover command to the handover device. The inventory application 206 may send a switch command to the switch 112. In some embodiments, the inventory application 206 sends the switch command through the reader 106 or the reader 109 (FIG. 1). The switching device 112 may disconnect the transfer connection and provide a tuning signal to the reader 109.

At block 612, the process 600 includes sending an inventory command to the second reader. The inventory application 206 may send an inventory command to the reader 109. The reader 109 may process the tuning signal from the switching device 112 to read the game chip 121 corresponding to the second technology and send the read result to the inventory application 206.

At block 615, the process 600 includes processing results from the second reader. Similar to block 606, the inventory application 206 may parse the message and extract a list of the game pieces 121 read by the reader 109. The format of the message may vary depending on the technology of the reader 109. The message may include an identifier for each of the tokens 121. In some embodiments, the message may also include data from a programmable memory contained on each of the game pieces 121. As an example, the game pieces 121 may include a monetary value stored in a programmable memory, a history of readings, and other information. The reader 109 can update or change the programmable memory if necessary.

At block 618, the process 600 includes sending another handover command to the handover device. The inventory application 206 may send a switch command to the switch 112. In some embodiments, the inventory application 206 sends the switch command through the reader 106 or the reader 109 (FIG. 1). The switching device 112 may disconnect the tuning signal provided to the reader 109 and provide a transfer connection to the reader 109.

At block 621, the process 600 includes determining whether the process is complete. If so, the process ends. Otherwise, process 600 proceeds to block 603. During the shutdown procedure, process 600 may be complete. During normal operation, process 600 is never complete.

Referring to fig. 7, a schematic block diagram of a computing device 700 is shown, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The computing environment 103, reader 106, reader 109, and/or switching apparatus 112 may include one or more computing devices 700. Each computing device 700 includes at least one processor circuit, e.g., having a processor 710, a memory 720, one or more inputs and outputs 730 coupled to a local interface 702. To this end, each computing device 700 may include, for example, at least one server computer or similar device. The local interface 702 may include, for example, a data bus with an accompanying address/control bus or other bus structure, as will be appreciated.

Stored in memory 720 are data and several components that may be executed by processor 710. In particular, stored in the memory 720 and executable by the processor 710 are the inventory application 206 and potentially other applications. The memory 720 may also have stored therein a data storage 203 and other data. In addition, an operating system may be stored in memory 720 and executed by processor 710.

It is to be appreciated that other applications can also be stored in the memory 720 and executed by the processor 710 as can be appreciated. Where any of the components discussed herein are implemented in software, a license may be employedAny of a number of programming languages, e.g., C, C + +, C #, Objective C,

Perl、PHP、

Ruby、

Or other programming language.

Some software components are stored in memory 720 and executable by processor 710. In this regard, the term "executable" means a program file in a form that can ultimately be run by the processor 710. Examples of executable programs may be, for example, a compiler that may be translated into machine code in a format that can be loaded into the random access portion of memory 720 and executed by processor 710, source code that may be expressed in an appropriate format, such as object code that can be loaded into the random access portion of memory 720 and executed by processor 710, or source code that may be interpreted by another executable program to generate instructions for execution by processor 710 in the random access portion of memory 720, etc. Executable programs may be stored in any portion or component of memory 720 including, for example, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), hard disk drives, solid state drives, USB flash drives, memory cards, optical disks such as Compact Disks (CDs) or Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs), floppy disks, magnetic tape, or other memory components.

Memory 720 is defined herein to include both volatile and nonvolatile memory and data storage components. Volatile components are those components that do not retain data values when power is lost. Non-volatile components are those that retain data when power is lost. Thus, memory 720 may include, for example, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, a USB flash drive, a memory card accessed through a memory card reader, a floppy disk accessed through an associated floppy disk drive, an optical disk accessed through an optical disk drive, a magnetic tape accessed through an appropriate tape drive, and/or other memory components, or a combination of any two or more of these memory components. Further, the RAM may include, for example, Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), or Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM), among other such devices. The ROM may include, for example, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or other similar memory devices.

Additionally, processor 710 may each represent multiple processors 710 and/or multiple processor cores, while memory 720 may represent multiple memories 720 each operating in parallel processing circuitry. In such cases, local interface 702 may be a suitable network to facilitate communication between any two of processors 710, between any processor 710 and any memory 720, between any two memories 720, and the like. Local interface 702 may include additional systems designed to coordinate this communication, including, for example, performing load balancing. The processor 710 may be an electronic or some other available structure.

While the inventory applications and logic in the reader 106, the card reader 109, the switching device 112, the antenna device 115, and the various other systems described herein may be embodied in software or code executed by general purpose hardware as described above, it may alternatively be embodied in dedicated hardware or a combination of software/general purpose hardware and dedicated hardware. If embodied in dedicated hardware, each can be implemented as a circuit or state machine using any one or combination of several technologies. These techniques may include, but are not limited to, discrete logic circuitry with logic gates to implement various logic functions in applying one or more data signals, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other component with appropriate logic gates, and the like. Such techniques are generally well known to those skilled in the art and, therefore, will not be described in detail herein.

The flow diagrams of fig. 5 and 6 illustrate the functionality and operation of some embodiments of the switching device 112 and the inventory application 206. If embodied in software, each block may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises program instructions to implement the specified logical function(s). The program instructions may be embodied in the form of source code that includes human-readable statements written in a programming language or machine code that includes numerical instructions that are recognizable by a suitable execution system, such as the processor 710 in a computer system or other system. The machine code may be translated from source code or the like. If embodied in hardware, each block may represent a circuit or several interconnected circuits to implement a specified logical function.

While the flow diagrams of fig. 5 and 6 show a specific order of execution, it is to be understood that the order of execution may differ from that described. For example, the order of execution of two or more blocks may be perturbed from the order shown. In addition, two or more blocks shown in succession in fig. 5 and 6 may be executed concurrently or with partial concurrence. Furthermore, in some embodiments, one or more of the blocks shown in fig. 5 and 6 may be skipped or omitted. Further, any number of counters, state variables, warning signals, or messages may be added to the logic flows described herein for purposes of enhancing utility, accounting, performance measurement, or providing troubleshooting aids, among others. It is understood that all such variations are within the scope of the present disclosure.

Additionally, any of the logic or applications described herein, including the inventory application and logic in the card reader 106, the card reader 109, the switching device 112, and the antenna device 115, including software or code, may be embodied in any non-transitory computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, such as the processor 710 in a computer system or other system. To this extent, logic can include, for example, statements including instructions and statements that can be fetched from a computer-readable medium and executed by an instruction execution system. In the context of this disclosure, a "computer-readable medium" can be any medium that can contain, store, or maintain the logic or applications described herein for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system.

The computer readable medium may comprise any of a number of physical media, such as magnetic, optical, or semiconductor media. More specific examples of a suitable computer-readable medium would include, but are not limited to, magnetic tape, magnetic floppy disk, magnetic hard drive, memory card, solid state drive, USB flash drive, or optical disk. Additionally, the computer readable medium may be a Random Access Memory (RAM) including, for example, Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) and Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), or Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM). Further, the computer-readable medium may be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or other types of memory devices.

Further, any of the logic or applications described herein, including the inventory application and logic in the reader 106, the reader 109, the switching device 112, and the antenna device 115, may be implemented and structured in a variety of ways. For example, the one or more applications may be implemented as modules or components of a single application. Further, one or more applications described herein may be executed in a shared or separate computing device, or a combination thereof. For example, multiple applications described herein may execute in the same computing device 700 or in multiple computing devices in the same computing environment 103. Further, it is to be understood that terms such as "application," "service," "system," "engine," "module," and the like are interchangeable and are not to be used in a limiting sense.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, incoherent language such as "X, Y or at least one of Z," along with context, is understood to be used to present items in general, terms, etc. may be X, Y or Z or any combination thereof (e.g., X, Y and/or Z). Thus, such disjointed language is not generally intended to, and should not be intended to, imply that certain embodiments require the presence of X, Y or Z, respectively.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are merely possible examples of implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.

Item 1. A system, comprising: an antenna including a plurality of outputs; and a switching device comprising a plurality of first reader inputs, a plurality of second reader inputs, and a plurality of antenna inputs, wherein the plurality of outputs from the antenna are coupled to the plurality of antenna inputs, and the switching device is configured to at least: providing a pass-through connection between the plurality of first reader inputs and the plurality of antenna inputs; disconnecting the transfer connection between the plurality of first reader inputs and the plurality of antenna inputs; generating a tuning signal based at least in part on the plurality of antenna inputs; and providing the tuning signal to the plurality of second reader inputs.

Item 2. The system of item 1, wherein the plurality of outputs of the antenna correspond to respective loops of the antenna.

Item 3. The system of item 1 or 2, wherein the switching device is further configured to at least: receiving an input to configure the switching device; determining at least one parameter corresponding to tuning signals from the plurality of antenna inputs; and storing at least one parameter, wherein the tuning signal is generated based at least in part on the at least one parameter.

Item 4. The system of any of items 1-3, wherein the switching device is further configured to at least: passing connections between the plurality of first reader inputs and the plurality of antenna inputs at a first time window; and providing the tuning signal to the plurality of second reader inputs at a second time window, wherein the first time window and the second time window are mutually exclusive.

Item 5. The system of any of items 1-4, further comprising a computing device configured to at least: reading, by the antenna, a set of first RFID-capable game pieces, the set of first RFID-capable game pieces corresponding to a first RFID technology; sending a command to the switching device to switch from the first RFID technology to a second RFID technology; and reading a set of second RFID-enabled gaming tokens via the antenna, the set of second RFID-enabled gaming tokens corresponding to the second RFID technology.

Item 6. The system of item 5, further comprising: a first reader corresponding to the first RFID technology, the first reader coupled to the plurality of first reader inputs; and a second reader corresponding to the second RFID technology, the second reader coupled to the plurality of second reader inputs, wherein the switching device is further configured to at least: receiving the command from the at least one computing device to switch from the first RFID technology to the second RFID technology, wherein the transfer connection is broken, the tuning signal is generated, and the tuning signal is provided in response to the command.

Item 7. The system of item 6, wherein the set of first RFID-capable game pieces is read by the first reader while the pass-through connection is provided between the plurality of first reader inputs and the plurality of antenna inputs, and the set of second RFID-capable game pieces is read by the second reader while the tuning signal is provided to the plurality of second reader inputs.

Item 8. A system, comprising: an antenna; a switching device coupled to the antenna; a first reader corresponding to a first RFID technology coupled to the switching device; a second reader corresponding to a second RFID technology coupled to the switching device; at least one computing device configured to at least: reading a set of first RFID-capable game pieces picked up on the antenna from the first reader; sending a command to switch from the first reader to the second reader; and reading a set of second RFID-enabled gaming tokens placed on the antenna by the second reader.

Item 9. The system of item 8, wherein the switching device is configured to at least: sending a first inventory command to the first reader; processing the set of first RFID-enabled gaming tokens; sending a second inventory command to the second reader; and processing the set of second RFID-enabled gaming chips.

Item 10. The system of item 8, wherein the first RFID technology comprises 13.56MHz technology and the second RFID technology comprises at least one of the following technologies: phase Jitter Modulation (PJM) technology, ISO 15693 technology, or 125KHz technology.

Item 11. The system of any of items 8-10, wherein the antenna is tuned for the first reader.

Item 12. The system of any of items 8-11, wherein the switching device is configured to at least: providing a transfer connection between the antenna and the first reader; receiving a command to switch from the first reader to the second reader; and in response to receiving the command: disconnecting the transfer connection between the antenna and the first reader; generating a tuning signal based at least in part on a signal of the antenna; and providing the tuning signal to the second reader.

Item 13. The system of any of items 8-12, wherein the antenna comprises a plurality of loops.

Item 14. A method, comprising: reading, by the at least one computing device, a set of first RFID-enabled gaming tokens positioned on the antenna from the first reader based at least in part on the antenna signals; sending an instruction to switch from the first reader to a second reader; and reading, by the at least one computing device, a set of second RFID-enabled gaming chips positioned on the antenna from the second reader based at least in part on a tuned antenna signal, the tuned antenna signal including an antenna signal modified by a switching device.

Item 15. The method of item 14, wherein the command to switch from the first reader to the second reader is sent from the first reader to the switching device.

Item 16. The method of item 14 or 15, further comprising: providing, by the switching device, the antenna signal to the first reader; receiving, by the switching device, a command to switch from the first reader to the second reader; and in response to receiving the command: stopping, by the switching device, the provision of the antenna signal to the first reader; generating, by the switching device, a tuning signal based at least in part on the antenna signal; and providing the tuning signal to the second reader through the switching device.

Item 17. The method of any of items 14-16, further comprising: determining at least one parameter corresponding to tuning a signal from the antenna; and tuning, by the switching device, the signal from the antenna based at least in part on the at least one parameter.

Item 18. The method of any of items 14-17, further comprising: tuning the antenna for the first reader; and tuning the antenna for the second reader in the switching device subsequent to tuning the antenna for the first reader.

Item 19. The method of any of items 14-18, wherein the first reader corresponds to a first RFID technology and the second reader corresponds to a second RFID technology.

Item 20. The method of any of items 14-19, further comprising iteratively: sending a command to switch from the second reader to the first reader; reading from the first reader; sending a command to switch from the first reader to the second reader; and reading from the second reader.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

an antenna including a plurality of outputs; and

a switching device comprising a plurality of first reader inputs, a plurality of second reader inputs, and a plurality of antenna inputs, wherein the plurality of outputs from the antenna are coupled to the plurality of antenna inputs, and the switching device is configured to at least:

providing a pass-through connection between the plurality of first reader inputs and the plurality of antenna inputs;

disconnecting the transfer connection between the plurality of first reader inputs and the plurality of antenna inputs;

generating a tuning signal based at least in part on the plurality of antenna inputs; and

providing the tuning signal to the plurality of second reader inputs.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of outputs of the antenna correspond to respective loops of the antenna.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the switching device is further configured to at least:

receiving an input to configure the switching device;

determining at least one parameter corresponding to tuning signals from the plurality of antenna inputs; and

storing at least one parameter, wherein the tuning signal is generated based at least in part on the at least one parameter.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the switching device is further configured to at least:

providing a pass-through connection between the plurality of first reader inputs and the plurality of antenna inputs at a first time window; and

providing the tuning signal to the plurality of second reader inputs at a second time window, wherein the first time window and the second time window are mutually exclusive.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a computing device configured to at least:

reading, by the antenna, a set of first RFID-capable game pieces, the set of first RFID-capable game pieces corresponding to a first RFID technology;

sending a command to the switching device to switch from the first RFID technology to a second RFID technology; and

reading, by the antenna, a set of second RFID-capable game pieces, the set of second RFID-capable game pieces corresponding to the second RFID technology.

6. The system of claim 5, further comprising:

a first reader corresponding to the first RFID technology, the first reader coupled to the plurality of first reader inputs; and

a second reader corresponding to the second RFID technology, the second reader coupled to the plurality of second reader inputs, wherein the switching device is further configured to at least:

receiving the command from the at least one computing device to switch from the first RFID technology to the second RFID technology, wherein the transfer connection is broken, the tuning signal is generated, and the tuning signal is provided in response to the command.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the set of first RFID-enabled gaming chips is read by the first reader while the pass-through connection is provided between the plurality of first reader inputs and the plurality of antenna inputs, and the set of second RFID-enabled gaming chips is read by the second reader while the tuning signal is provided to the plurality of second reader inputs.

8. A system, comprising:

an antenna;

a switching device coupled to the antenna;

a first reader corresponding to a first RFID technology coupled to the switching device;

a second reader corresponding to a second RFID technology coupled to the switching device;

at least one computing device configured to at least:

reading a set of first RFID-capable game pieces picked up on the antenna from the first reader;

sending a command to switch from the first reader to the second reader; and

reading, by the second reader, a set of second RFID-functional game pieces deposited on the antenna.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the switching device is configured to at least:

sending a first inventory command to the first reader;

processing the set of first RFID-enabled gaming tokens;

sending a second inventory command to the second reader; and

processing the set of second RFID-enabled gaming tokens.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the first RFID technology comprises 13.56MHz technology and the second RFID technology comprises at least one of: phase Jitter Modulation (PJM) technology, ISO 15693 technology, or 125KHz technology.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the antenna is tuned for the first reader.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the switching device is configured to at least:

providing a transfer connection between the antenna and the first reader;

receiving a command to switch from the first reader to the second reader; and

in response to receiving the command:

disconnecting the transfer connection between the antenna and the first reader;

generating a tuning signal based at least in part on a signal of the antenna; and

providing the tuning signal to the second reader.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the antenna comprises a plurality of loops.

14. A method, comprising:

reading, by the at least one computing device, a set of first RFID-enabled gaming tokens positioned on the antenna from the first reader based at least in part on the antenna signals;

sending an instruction to switch from the first reader to a second reader; and

reading, by the at least one computing device, a set of second RFID-capable game pieces positioned on the antenna from the second reader based at least in part on a tuned antenna signal, the tuned antenna signal including an antenna signal modified by a switching device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the command to switch from the first reader to the second reader is sent from the first reader to the switching device.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

providing, by the switching device, the antenna signal to the first reader;

receiving, by the switching device, a command to switch from the first reader to the second reader; and

in response to receiving the command:

stopping, by the switching device, the provision of the antenna signal to the first reader;

generating, by the switching device, a tuning signal based at least in part on the antenna signal; and

providing, by the switching device, the tuning signal to the second reader.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining at least one parameter corresponding to tuning a signal from the antenna; and

tuning, by the switching device, the signal from the antenna based at least in part on the at least one parameter.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

tuning the antenna for the first reader; and

tuning the antenna for the second reader in the switching device subsequent to tuning the antenna for the first reader.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the first reader corresponds to a first RFID technology and the second reader corresponds to a second RFID technology.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising iteratively:

sending a command to switch from the second reader to the first reader;

reading from the first reader;

sending a command to switch from the first reader to the second reader; and

reading from the second reader.